Toyota Recalls 1.29 Million Vehicles for Air Bags and Wipers

Toyota has recalled over one million cars around the world for faulty air bags and defective windshield wipers. The company recalled 907,000 cars, mostly Corollas, due to air bags that can improperly inflate when the vehicle’s electronic signals damage a chip in the part that controls the air bags. It also is recalling 385,000 Lexus IS luxury cars with wipers that can get stuck if there is heavy snowfall.

Initially, the Japanese automaker had said there were no accidents related to either problem, but according to Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Naoto Fuse, that two crashes were reported in the U.S. related to the air bag problem. Toyota has also confirmed 18 cases in the U.S. of abrasion-type injuries from the air bag problem. In total, the automaker has received 46 reports of problems involving the air bags from North America, and one from Japan, and 25 reports of problems related to the windshield wipers.

As part of the air bag recall, Toyota is recalling some 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars in the U.S., about 141,000 vehicles in Canada and thousands of similar vehicles in Japan and Mexico that were manufactured between December 2001 and May 2004. The part will be corrected to be able to block damaging signals, said Fuse. The problem wipers affect three kinds of Lexus IS models, manufactured from May 2005 to October 2011, including 270,000 vehicles in the U.S. and nearly 17,000 vehicles in Canada. The recall also affects the Lexus IS sold in Europe, the Middle East and China.